In Story of the Week, we turn the spotlight on schools in the
national capital. Despite a June 2018 Delhi government order that mandates
the creation of inclusive classrooms, children with disabilities in many
schools battle indifference and apathy. Names of parents and children have
been changed for reasons of privacy.

Dharam* was 11 years old when his parents were told to
withdraw him from school. Diagnosed with ADHD when he was six years old,
Dharam had been studying in a government-aided private school in New Delhi
from class one.

"The class teacher would complain that my son had issues sitting for a long
time and was restless. So, we opted for a shadow teacher, but the school
withdrew that facility and insisted that we take him home early at 11 AM,
recalls Dharam's father, Alok*.

When Dharam was in class 5, the school began insisting his parents withdraw
him from school. When they refused, the school reacted by barring the child
from entering the classroom. "They would leave him on the school grounds,
even in the intense winter. They didn't rusticate him, but they didn't let
him enter the class either. This affected his morale a lot, he became
irritable, depressed and would even behave violently at times.

Unable to watch their child suffer, Dharam's parents pulled him out of
school. Today, he goes to a therapy centre for a few hours every day. "The
therapist says his symptoms are quite mild so he does not fit into a special
school, but mainstream schools are not open to admitting a child like him.

This is the story across many schools in the national capital, where children
with disabilities find themselves sidelined in the mainstream education
system.

What the rulebook says

This violates a Delhi government order, dated June 2018, which mandates that
all schools funded or recognized by the government and local authorities
provide inclusive education to children with disabilities. Some of the key
provisions under the order issued by the Directorate of
Education are:

Every child with a disability be given one-on-one inputs by a special
educator every single day.

If a school has over 6-7 children with disabilities per special educator,
only then should groups of 2-3 children be formed according to the similarity
of their needs.

Develop Individualized Education Plan for each child which are to be
reviewed regularly.

Activities to make the school inclusive.

Plan and implement co-curricular activities for children with
disabilities on a regular basis.

Organize weekly interactions with parents of these children and the
teachers.

What actually happens

The reality, however, says Shailja Sharma, a lawyer
specializing in disability laws and parent to a child with autism, is quite
different.

The ratio of children with special needs to the special educator is
supposed to be 3:1 but on the ground children are clubbed into a resource
room regardless of the nature of disability. There are no learning outcomes
and the mindset among teachers is that these children cannot do anything,
so why invest so much time and energy on them? The school is supposed to
provide whatever is needed for the full development of the child, a
workshop was also held by the Delhi government's education directorate in
this regard to sensitize the schools and special educators. -
Shailja Sharma, Lawyer

As NewzHook found out, Dharam's was not a unique case.
Anahita has a seven-year-old son Piyush,
who has ADHD and autism, studying in a mainstream school in a Delhi suburb.

"I was faced with questions like 'why are you bothering to educate him' from
his class teacher, she says. "I have decided that my son deserves an
education and will fight for it if needed. The teacher would constantly
complains about how he takes longer than the other kids to write. I even took
his therapist to school to demand his rights.

Matters came to a head after Piyush's teacher locked him up naked in the
bathroom for soiling his clothes. "I took the matter up with higher
authorities and since then the school has backed down. But there is no
facility given - no shadow teacher, no teacher student ratio followed and he
is clubbed with children who have disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy
and learning disorders.

Another parent, Bhavna* says the ratio of special educators
to children in her son's school is 1:11. "My seven-year-old has non-verbal
autism and he is clubbed with slow learners and children with mental
disabilities. I have tried to speak to the principal about dealing with them
according to their needs. How can they deal with 11 children with diff
disabilities? If such children are dealt with in a specific manner, they can
do so well.

On paper, these loopholes are rarely mentioned and the children are shown as
integrated.

"When parents ask teachers about the progression towards goals, they are told
no improvement, says Sharma. "Obviously there will be none in such
circumstances and the parents give up. When the schools are failing them at
the primary education level, where is the question of secondary or higher
education?'

The solution, believes Rashmi Dhawan, Head of Department, Special
Needs, Sanskriti School lies in training mainstream
teachers to handle the needs of children with disabilities.

"Because of the Education Directorate's ruling, many schools do have a school
counsellor but that's not enough to cater to so many especially since many
children get diagnosed only after they are in the school system. It is
important for schools to start training their mainstream teachers and inhouse
workshops can play an important role. This way teachers can also guide
parents on the additional therapies that the child may need which may not be
available in school.

Schools must take the initiative and empower teachers with the methodologies
and training needed to handle the diverse needs of children, adds Dhawan.

Related Links

Hi, I'm Bhavna Sharma. An Inclusion Strategist with Newz Hook. Yes, I am a person with disability. But that doesn’t define who I am. I am a youth, a woman and also the 1st Miss Disability of India 2013. I wanted to achieve something in life and I have been working for the last 9 years. I have recently completed my MBA in Human Resources because I want to grow. I am like every other young person in India. I want a good education, a good job and I want to help my family financially. So you can see I am like everyone else, yet people see me differently.

Here is the Ask Bhavna column for you where I would like to talk to you about the law, society and people’s attitudes and how we can build inclusion in India together.

So, if you have a question about any issue related to disability, bring them out and I can try to answer them? It could be a question relating to a policy or of a personal nature. Well, this is your space to find the answers!